A few years ago, a couple of young, exciting rappers from Kumasi, the capital city of Ghana’s Ashanti Region, breathed new life into the country’s waning Hip-hop scene. The rappers – O’Kenneth, Jay Bahd, Kawabanga, Cedi City Boy, reggie, Kwaku DMC, Sean Lifer, Rabby Jones, Braa Benk, and Yaw Tog – all took major inspiration from Chicago’s famous Drill music, layering the genre’s characteristic hi-hat and rippling bassline with sharp, abrasive lyrics that switch deftly between the Akan language, Twi, and English. The gripping sound ballooned into a full-blown movement which they called Asakaa, a word which was coined from the Twi word “kasa” (which means “talk”), said backwards.

Like the name suggests, the Asakaa boys use drill music as an avenue to freely express themselves, chronicling the realities of living in Kumerica (a portmanteau of Kumasi and America), as they call it, as well as their various personal experiences. “When you listen to UK Drill, it’s like fights and crime, you feel me? But we, the Kumasi people, we talk about our lives, how we want to win so bad, how God should help us, stuff like that,” Yaw Tog explained in an interview with NATIVE a few years ago. The conservative nature of the Kumasi people along with the infamous reputation that drill music had developed, right from the days when it was slowly emerging from Chicago’s South Side, meant that the genre was not initially embraced by the community. Things, however, took a turn in 2020. 

Sean Lifer, the co-founder of Life Living Records, is largely credited as the defacto godfather of Asakaa, laying the groundwork for the genre many years before its explosion throughout Ghana; but it was the efforts of Asakaa poster boy Yaw Tog that truly pushed the movement to widespread renown. In August 2020, the 21-year-old, born Thorsten Owusu Gyimah, released his debut single “Sore,” a swaggering statement record that went viral shortly after its release and caught the attention of Uk rap star Stormzy who featured on the remix alongside Ghanaian rapper Kwesi Arthur.

The original single, which featured fellow Asakaa boys O’Kenneth, City Boy, reggie and Jay Bahd, amassed over 3 million views on YouTube just a few months after its release and the remix racked up even more impressive numbers on other platforms. The single also received a number of notable awards, including the Hip-Hop Song Of The Year award at both the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) and the 3Music Awards. While Tog might have given the movement arguably its biggest moment, the efforts of his peers were just as significant in its proliferation.

Shortly before the release of “Sore,” Life Living Records act Kwaku DMC dropped the vibrant “Off White Flow,” catching the attention of the late visionary designer Virgil Abloh, who featured the Asakaa boys on his Apple Music show Televised Radio. In the same year, fellow Asakaa boys O’Kenneth and reggie released ‘Straight Outta Kumerica,’ a 6-track collaborative EP that perfectly encapsulates the subgenre’s essence. The rappers adopt influences from notable drill giants like Pop Smoke, dousing the late rapper’s electrifying style in local dialects to deliver invigorating music that sounds immediately provincial but also holds a global appeal. 

The success of the Asakaa boys helped drill spill over into Ghana’s mainstream, inspiring many A-listers as well as a host of other young, talented acts in the country to weigh in and put their own unique spin on the captivating subgenre. One of the many exciting rappers who has embraced the Asakaa sound and is looking to progress the subgenre, both sonically and aesthetically, is Beeztrap KOTM. The Kumasi rising star has been dubbed one of the golden children of Ghanaian music, as his distinctive mix of drill, hip-life, reggae and a number of other genres has quickly made him a standout act.  

Born Edwin Eshun, Beeztrap KOTM was raised in Santasi, a suburb of Kumasi. He was born into a musically-inclined family and this helped him develop an affinity for music very early on. As a kid, he served as a drummer in his local church’s choir – where his mum and sister also sang – and he frequently visited his uncle who owned a recording studio. His time at his uncle’s studio helped him learn a lot about making music and this ultimately influenced his decision to chase a career in music. 

After making covers of popular songs and releasing a number of warmly-received singles, Beeztrap’s longtime friend and producer Stichez played the then unreleased “Distance Relationship,” to Asakaa stalwart reggie who was intrigued by Beeztrap’s work and expressed his desire to collaborate with the fusion artist. Jay Bahd and O’Kenneth ended up featuring on the single as well and this helped Beeztrap gain significant attention, especially among the ever-expanding Asakaa fanbase. Shortly after the release of “Distance Relationship,” Beeztrap went on tour with the Asakaa boys and he released his first major hit single “Cinderella.”

The posse cut helped showcase just how dynamic the sub genre has become as Beeztrap was joined by Skyface SDW, City Boy, Thomas the Great, reggie, Braabenk, O’Kenneth and Kwaku DMC to deliver love-inspired lyrics over a slow, seductive beat that takes influences from drill, Afropop and Highlife. The single ended up on Beeztrap’s 2023 EP ‘Different Kind Of Gangster,’ an introspective 7-tracker that put on display the rapper’s ingenuity as well as the endless possibilities of Asakaa. 

More recently, Beeztrap continues to push the boundaries of Asakaa, slightly toning down the subgenre’s typical animation and pairing it with more airy sounds. Singles like “Fly Girl,” with Oseikrom Sikanii and subsequent remix which features Afrofusion singer Gyakie have massively contributed to giving the subgenre a different dynamic, making it a lot more soothing and accessible to a growing fanbase that has extended beyond the streets of Kumasi. While acts like Beeztrap continue to push Asakaa forward, originators like reggie, Kwaku DMC, Jay Bahd and O’Kenneth are also hard at work in keeping the movement alive as they gracefully embrace new faces in the scene while relentlessly creating and releasing music that captures the distinct energy of Kumerica.